Klaas Elsinga – Program Director

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Klaas, a Netherlands-native, spent 14 years working for Permasteelisa Group, a leading global contractor in engineering, project management, manufacturing and installation of architectural facades and interior systems. Two of his most prestigious projects include the podium (first 20 floors) of One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower) in New York City and the new US Embassy in London. In NY, he led an international team of designers, engineers and site managers along with SOM, the architectural firm, to manufacture and install a facade made entirely of vertical glass fins set at different angles with fully integrated LED lighting resulting in a dynamic appearance. This project was LEED Gold certified. In London, the US Embassy facade design was required to be fully resistant to forced entry and ballistics as well as LEED certified.

In 2016, Klaas moved to Amsterdam with his wife and daughter. They purchased a home where he has converted the ground floor into a vacation rental and is renovating the rest of the house, including making it more eco-friendly. On top of this, he enjoys time exploring the city (keeping up) with his daughter, now a happy toddler.

Klaas has a passion for seeing the world and has traveled extensively through Europe, North America, Oceania, Russia, Mongolia, China, Nepal, Thailand and Indonesia.

He holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the NHL University of Applied Sciences, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands.